Fire alarm systems are often installed within commercial, residential, or governmental buildings. Examples of these buildings include hospitals, warehouses, schools, shopping malls, government buildings, and casinos, to list a few examples. The tire alarm systems typically include fire alarm devices such as a control panel, fire alarm initiating devices, and notification devices. Some examples of alarm initiating devices include smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, temperature sensors, and pull stations. Similarly, notification devices include speakers, horns, bells, chimes, light emitting diode (LED) reader boards, and/or flashing lights (e.g., strobes), to list a few examples.
The alarm initiating devices monitor the buildings for indicators of fire. Upon detection of indicators of fire, device signals are sent from the alarm initiating devices to the control panel. The device signals are typically alarm signals and/or analog values. In general, the alarm signals are generated by alarm initiating devices in the situation where the alarm initiating devices themselves determine whether ambient conditions are indicative of a fire. The alarm signals are used to signal the control panel that a fire has been detected. Alternatively, some devices provide analog values to indicate measured conditions. In one example, temperature sensors provide analog values for measured temperatures. In another example, smoke sensors provide analog values indicating smoke obscuration levels. The control panel then determines if the analog values are indicative of a fire. Additionally, in some examples, the alarm initiating devices provide both alarm signals and analog values.
In response to detection of indicators of fire, the control panel initiates an alarm condition, which often includes an evacuation of the building. Additionally, the control panel may also send a signal to a fire department, a central communications or receiving station, a local monitoring station, and/or other building alarm/notification systems (e.g., public address systems).
Typically, the fire alarm devices are periodically tested by inspectors (e.g., monthly, quarterly, or annually depending on fire or building codes) to verify that the devices are physically sound, unaltered, working properly, not obstructed, properly labeled, and located in their assigned locations. In general, the term inspector refers to any authorized person that inspects the alarm initiating device. Thus, the inspector could be a person that only inspects the devices or the inspector could be, for example, a technician that is also able to install, configure, and/or repair alarm systems.
This testing of the devices is often accomplished with a walkthrough test. Historically, walkthrough tests were performed by a team of at least two inspectors. The first inspector walked through the building and manually activated each fire detection and tire annunciation device while the second inspector remained at the control panel to verify that the control panel received a signal from the activated device. The inspectors would typically communicate via two-way radios or mobile phones to coordinate the testing of each device. In some cases, the inspectors might even have resorted to comparing handwritten notes of the tested devices. After a group of fire alarm devices was tested, the inspector at the panel reset the control panel while the other inspector moved to the next fire detection or fire annunciation device. One inspector stayed at the control panel and the other inspector moved through the building, activating each device (e.g., applying real or artificial smoke to smoke detectors, for example). Upon activation, the devices sent device signals to the co panel and the inspector at the control panel recorded results of the test.
Recently, single-person walkthrough systems have been proposed. In these systems, the technician connects a testing computer to the control panel and a first two-way radio. The technician then establishes a communications link with the first two-way radio using a second two-way radio and selecting the same radio frequency on both of the two-way radios. Alternatively, the technician may establish a communications link with cellular phones or a paging transmitter and pager.
During the walkthrough test, the technician placed one of the fire alarm devices into an alarm condition. The control panel detected the alarm condition of the activated device and sent a message containing the location and/or address of the activated device to the testing computer. Next, the computer converted the message received from the control panel to an audio stream and sent the audio stream to the technician over the communications link. The technician heard the location and/or address of the activated device and verified if the device was operating correctly. The testing process repeated with the next fire detection or fire annunciation device until all of the fire detection and fire annunciation devices of the alarm system have been verified.
More recently, it has been proposed to use connected services systems to monitor building management systems. In some cases, the control panels have been given network connectivity to communicate with the connected services systems; in other cases, the testing computers functioned as gateways. This has allowed the control panels to report status information to the connected services systems. These connected services systems will also often have remote diagnostic capabilities. As such, connected services systems enable communications between a control panel of a fire alarm system and a mobile computing device operated by an on-site inspector and thus can be used to facilitate the inspection process.
During an inspection, the connected services system receives event data from the control panel and sends the event data to the mobile computing device in real-time. Illustrated by way of example, upon activation of a fire alarm device, the control panel receives a signal from the activated device, Event data are generated and sent to the connected services system, The event data are stored and/or logged by the connected services system and also sent to the mobile computing device in real-time. The on-site technician is able to view the event data and verify that the fire alarm device is physically sound, unaltered, working properly, and in its assigned location. The technician then moves to test the next fire alarm device.
Additionally, self-testing fire detection devices have been proposed and implemented to varying degrees. In one specific example, a self-test circuit for a smoke detector periodically tests whether the sensitivity of a scattered light photodetector is within a predetermined range of acceptable sensitivities. If the sensitivity of the scattered light photodetector is out of the predetermined range of acceptable sensitivities, then a fault indication is produced. In self-testing systems, a device is selected by an inspector for self-testing, and, as a result, the control panel sends a testing signal to the device to initiate the self-testing process.